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Thursday, October 19, 2000

in case you were wondering...: tom ewing sounds just like you'd think he sound...or at least how i thought he'd sound. which is to say that he sounds like a cross between jarvis cocker and ringo starr (though i'm told it's the alcohol). i also received a message telling me that my message to you, the caller, is lame, but i'll let you be the judge of that: 1-800-my-yahoo (1-800-699-2466), mailbox number 973-484-1066. the u.k. needs to dial 00 before calling and canada must dial 011 (and also for folks outside the u.s., as i'm told that this was confusing, the pound key is the same as the number sign key). let your voice be heard!
-fred solinger | steal this link!

critic quits after negative review is canned: how come i'm always the last to know about these things? this comes from catherine, of course, and it's the story of a critic for a fledgling weekly entertainment magazine quitting after her negative review of the new paul simon album was replaced with a rave write-up. this isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened, remember jim derogatis and lester bangs? there's so much more that i'd like to say here, but those who know me well will know why i'm biting my tongue.
-fred solinger | steal this link!

Wednesday, October 18, 2000

yahoo! by phone: so, i was reading my yahoo! mail when i saw an ad for this new service. i haven't tried it out yet, actually, but it promises e-mail, voice mail, and stock quotes by phone, and since it's free what the hell. so, i guess if you ever wanted to call me and not talk to me but instead leave a voice message, here's your opportunity, plus it's FREE! if you should want to do this, call 1-800-my-yahoo and then enter my account number which is 973-484-1066 and then go to town! but, please, nothing explicit. thanx.
-fred solinger | steal this link!

so, jesus was a carpenter: but does anyone know if he was any good? i mean, you know, he's the son of God and all and you'd figure he would be, but i've never seen anything pointing one way or the other. is this information out there? does anyone know? i don't mean, like, you have a spice rack in your kitchen built by christ himself, but has anyone ever read anything about the matter? let me know.
-fred solinger | steal this link!

update: radiohead sold 86,400 copies of kid a this week, or a 59% dropoff. still, they bested the wallflowers' whose new album, breach, debuted outside the top ten at 13 with sales of 81,000 copies.
-fred solinger | steal this link!

radiowho?: order has been restored on the pop charts, folks. ja rule has topped billboard with his new album, rule 3:36, selling 275,000 copies. radiohead, as predicted, has fallen to number ten on the chart. i'd be interested in the actual sales numbers, but they're not available. certainly lends credence to the belief that the big fans bought their copies in the first week and then a smaller number, perhaps "inspired" by their snl appearance, bought it.
-fred solinger | steal this link!

where's the beef?:

to my shock and horror, it's pouring outside. what, will i melt if i go outside in the rain? well, no, but i've forgotten my paraso-, er, umbrella. so, fate has forced me to go down to duane reade and see what they have in terms of lunchie-munchies. they have this line of products by armour called "lunch bucket," as seen above. i figure, hey, it's 99 cents, what the hell? and, well, never has the saying, "you get what you pay for" rang truer. today, i am having the "beeftastic" beef ravioli, and i'm finding that it's more "tastic" than "beef" and more ravioli than either, but what's a poor boy to do?
-fred solinger | steal this link!

JOHNNY CASH - AMERICAN III: SOLITARY MAN
"i'm afraid i told a lie," johnny cash sings at the end of his cover of nick cave's "the mercy seat," a song in which a con is finally getting his due in the electric chair, but what is it that he's afraid he lied about? in the song, he endlessly repeats the refrain, "i'm not afraid to die," and, though it's somewhat nebulous, in the context of this album, one's inclined to believe that there's his lie, right there. for johnny cash, the once seemingly invincible man in black, this is his roundabout admission: the 68 year-old country legend was diagnosed with parkinson's disease in 1997 and american iii seems to be his way of coming to grips with his mortality: the man who once shot a man to watch him die is now afraid that death may be having a laugh at his expense.

american iii is actually two albums: the first half, give or take a song, deals with getting old and how that effects one's outlook on life; the second half is given to more traditional country fare: as an album, it's better when he keeps to the former. both sides, though, are united by rick rubin's elemental production, which wisely makes room for cash's voice: the voice that reigns over the entire album is still compelling and often majestic, making up for what it's lost in force and power with a greater emotional pull.

tom petty's "i won't back down," which starts off the album, is efficient in stating the album's credo: "rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated so put away your fucking shovels". next up is neil diamond's "solitary man," proof that, at one time, diamond should've been considered a serious songsmith, and it also shores up the cash myth: he stands alone and that's how it's always going to be. "that lucky old sun" is a heartbreaker: a weary man, cash cries out for peace and tranquility, to be taken into the next life. it is in this track more than on any other that you can hear the ravages of time and what they've done to him.

the less said about "one," the better. if there's ever a single that comes from this album, it'll be this because the performance is so lifeless and uninspired that you hope the record company made him record it so they can "sell" the album. moving on.

his cover of will oldham's "i see a darkness" is a brilliant thing. it's the musical equivalent of the straight story: a man reaching out to his friend, maybe his brother, trying to make amends before its too late, knowing that the end for both them is near. it's passionate and gripping and the perfect match of artist and song: whereas oldham lacked the years to really pull it off, cash, with all he's seen, probably knows the story too well. on paper, johnny cash covering "the mercy seat" also seemed like a good match of singer and song: the ultimate rebel singing about going to the electric chair? bring it on! but, unlike "i see a darkness," listening to cash's version, one realizes that "the mercy seat" is a young(er) man's song. cave's version, while carefully written, comes across as stream-of-consciousness, the ramblings of a mad man who finds that he's lost control. by contrast, cash's take is too reasoned, too composed; it's the sound of man who's had too long to think about his fate. in the end, it only makes you long to hear cave's version and, on an album like this, where the singer needs to make the song his own, it must be viewed as a failure.

more successful are songs like "nobody," a curmudgeon's look at the world, and "would you lay with me," an old man's "when i'm 64" where the protagonist has reached 64 and, well, now what? cash's own "field of diamonds" ends the theoretical first half and it's a lovely ballad with a refreshingly optimistic view. after that track, the album delves into more cash-penned songs and traditional fare. it's not by any means bad, but it's far less engaging than what comes before it. after all that's built up, it nearly comes across as a cop-out, as if the material just hit far too close to home. nevertheless, there's enough strong material on american iii to make it a worthwhile purchase and it's the best album i've bought by a sexagenarian in a long time. an american legend confronts death and it helps him find greater value in life. "gonna stand my ground, and i won't back down," he sings. just try and stop him.
-fred solinger | steal this link!

NEXT STOP: SUBWAY SERIES!: ...as if new yorkers didn't already think they were the center of the universe. congrats to both teams, and early condolences to the yanks for when they LOSE!
-fred solinger | steal this link!

Tuesday, October 17, 2000

ze new mixtape: pathetic. nothing but lists on this page lately. i know, and i'm sorry and i hope to have things back on track shortly. for now, here's my latest tape, made on the fly so most tracks aren't segued very well and i was really reaching for material when i got near the end.

anyway.

side a: beach boys, "slip on through"
beach boys, "deirdre"
slimm calhoun ft. andre 3000 of outkast, "it's ok"
fifth dimension, "the magic garden"
backstreet boys, "i want it that way"
robbie williams, "let love be your energy"
waterboys, "whole of the moon"
raspberries, "go all the way"
magazine, "the light pours out of me"
clarence carter, "slip away"
moby, "porcelain"
led zeppelin, "going to california"

side b:
radiohead, "lucky"
bjork, "new world"
u2, "bad"
neil young, "after the gold rush"
bee gees, "first of may"
rascals, "how can i be sure"
who, "love, reign o'er me"
lou reed, "sad song"
joy division, "atmosphere"
velvet underground, "ocean"

-fred solinger | steal this link!

Monday, October 16, 2000

top ten singles of the year so far: with frustratingly little -- or rather -- no commentary BUT with sound samples, where available.

10. marilyn manson, "disposable teens"
9. sade, "by your side"
8. jay-z ft. ugk, "big pimpin'"
7. a-ha, "summer moved on"
6. dmx, "party up"
5. d'angelo, "untitled"
4. all saints, "pure shores"
3. backstreet boys, "shape of my heart"
2. sisqo, "the thong song"

and coming in at number 1...

1. outkast, "bombs over baghdad"
-fred solinger | steal this link!

UPDATES!: what better to do when you have nothing to write about than update the review archives? so, i've added reviews of jay-z's new single, spike lee's bamboozled, the who live, and the new albums by u2 and robbie williams: all in the archives, so go check it out.

actually, i do have something to talk about: radiohead on snl. one question: this is the future? they played two songs, "the national anthem" replete with brass section and "idioteque." thom yorke's "dancing" most closely resembled a seizure and there was this one guy who crawled around like a serpent and then got up to make "weird" sounds come out of "archaic" keyboard devices. oh, and on "idioteque" he just kind of stood around playing with wires, as if he was a maintenance guy or something. the crowd seemed to love it, but we were not allowed to look at their faces for fear that we'd see the guns at each of their heads, forcing them to applaud. all in all, it was a postmodern experience like no other. this is art.
-fred solinger | steal this link!

hmmm: did a member of the lapd kill the notorious b.i.g.? and the department end the investigation when they uncovered this?
-fred solinger | steal this link!